Science Interviews

The science of ocean bioluminescence

Bioluminescence expert, Dr Edith Widder, introduces the spectacular light displays of the ocean.Edith Widder, Ocean Conservation and Research Association

New Targets for Cancer Drugs

Madhusudan Srinivasan discusses a new target for cancer drugs - blocking the repair of DNA...Madhusudan Srinivasan, University of Nottingham

Imaging Cancer

The science surrounding cancer is multifaceted. It involves clinicians, chemists, geneticists, and even physicists. The essential work of developing new treatments and clinical approaches is backed up by developments in imaging technology that allow us to detect and observe tumours with ever increasing fidelity...Professor Martin Leach, Co-director of the CRUK and EPSRC Cancer Imaging Centre

The Stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet - Planet Earth Online

How stable is the West Antarctic ice sheet. It’s one of the biggest questions in Climate Science. After all, if the ice itself melted then global sea levels could rise by between 3 and 5 metres, and that would be a catastrophe. To work out how stable the ice sheet has been in the past, scientists at the University of Exeter has been using a process known as cosmogenic isotope dating....Chris Fogwell, University of Exeter

Ras, Raf, Mek, Erk: cell signalling and the future for cancer treatment?

Professor Chris Marshall discusses research on the Ras pathway and his hopes for personalised medicine making it to the cancer clinic in the next decade.Professor Chris Marshall from the Institute for Cancer Research in London

Clearing Old Cells Prevents Old Age Diseases

Most cell types in our body are being constantly replenished, but we still get old. A sub population of cells are said to undergo senescence – chemical controls kick in and stop them from dividing to produce new cells. When we’re young, these are then cleared out by the immune system, but as we age they start to build up in our tissues. Now, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester suggest that these cells may play an important role in diseases of old age...Dr Jan van Deursen, Mayo Clinic

Drug Addiction, Polluted Cyclones and Roaring Lions

This week's NewsFlash explores how smoking could pave the way for cocaine use, how our skin sees sunlight in order to protect us and the secret of being a roaring success...Amir Levine, Columbia University; Amato Evans, Virginia University; Elena Oancea, Brown University; Sarah Klemuk, University of Utah

The Polarised Universe

If you've seen a recent 3D film, you'll know that studying polarised light can be really helpful. The Cosmic Microwave Background is just the same - observing the polarity can tell us about the history of the universe...Dr Jo Dunkley, Oxford University

The Origins of Blue Stragglers

Blue Stragglers are strange stars that don’t seem to fit the standard picture of stellar evolution. New research helps to shed light on their origins...Dr Christopher Tout, Cambridge University

Treating Respiratory Disorders with Gene Therapy

Maria Limberis explores how respiratory disorders such as Cystic Fibrosis can be targeted by gene therapy...Maria Limberis, University of Pennsylvania

Fossil Proteins - Planet Earth Online

You’ll remember, in the film Jurassic Park scientists manage to reconstruct dinosaurs from DNA preserved for tens of millions of years. Sadly for killer dinosaur fans, DNA doesn’t appear to last that long…but it turns out that proteins do...Roy Wogelius, University of Manchester

Targeted Gene Therapy for Haemophilia

Kathy High explains how changing the expression of genes can help treat diseases such as Haemophilia...Kathy High, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Living With Haemophilia

Haemophilia is a disorder of blood clotting factors, leading to excessive bleeding in patients. To find out what it's like to live with the condition, Meera Senthilingam met Adam Jones...Adam Jones, University of Sunderland

Gene Therapy for Inherited Blindness

Rob MacLaren explores how we can manipulate genes to restore vision in patients with inherited blindness...Robert MacLaren, University of Oxford

A Virus to Combat Cancer

Iain McNeish discusses how adenoviruses could be used to find and kill cancerous cells within the body...Iain McNeish, University College London

Foetal Gene Therapy

Simon Waddington explains how you could use gene therapy to treat certain disorders as early as in the womb...Simon Waddington, University College London

The French Teaching Kitchen

Scientists have brought language and computer science to the kitchen to teach you a language whilst you're cooking your dinner...Paul Seedhouse, Dan Jackson, Jurgen Wager; Newcastle University

Spaceports, IVF and Malaria Vaccines

The opening of the World's first spaceport, improving IVF success with genetic screening, New hope for a Malaria Vaccine and how Giant Pandas survive on Bamboo...Richard Branson, Virgin; Dagan Wells, University of Oxford; Tsiri Abunyega, Malaria Vaccine Initiative; Fuwen Wei, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Insect Recruitment to keep Pests at Bay

John Pickett discusses how plants can recruit insects to keep other pests at bay...Professor John Pickett, Rothamsted Research

Late summer browning with Leaf Miners

Emily Seward takes you on a trip to find leaf miners...and they appear to be everywhere.Emily Seward